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DUKE 

UNIVERSITY 

LIBRARY 


FRIENDS    OF 

DUKE    UNIVERSITY 

LIBRARY 

GIFT  OF 


.L.Q.uls.e....Hall 


"FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS' 


By  CARL.  H.  BROCKHAGEN 

Advertising  Counsel  for  the  San  Francisco 
Bulletin  and  President  of  the  Advertising 
Club  of  San  Francisco 

nPHERE  has  been  more  fraud  perpetrated 
through  the  classified  pages  of  the  Ameri- 
can press  than  through  all  other  classes  of 
advertising  combined.  .  .  .  Through  fake 
Want  Ads  the  gullible  and  unwary,  the 
weak  and  the  sick,  the  country  yokel  and 
innocent  maid  are  often  led  to  dens  of 
iniquity,  and  financial,  moral  or  physical 
disaster  follows  fast  in  the  wake  of  the 
rotten  medical,  personal,  massage,  clair- 
voyant, matrimonial,  mining  or  thieving 
business  opportunity  advertising. 

[In  The  Fourth  Estate,  May  27,  1916] 


[  Easy  Money  ] 

"Fishing  for  Suckers" 

Advertising    Schemes    That    Get 

Money  from  the   Innocent, 

Gullible  and  Unwary 


<•<? 


Bait" 


Photos  of  the  Nude 
"The  Kind  Men  Want,  but  Seldom  Get" 

Rich,  Rare  and  Racy  Books 
"The  Warmest  Stuff  Ever  Put  in  Print** 

The  Mail  Order  Mint 
"Making  Money  in  the  Mail  Order  Mint 
Is  Easy  When  You  Know  How" 


(,(,    Ct   99 


Boston 

George  Thomas  Watkins 

1916 


Copyright,  1916,  by 
George  Thomas  Watkins 


5^443 


tiontents  X        \ 

PREFACE  Page     9 

"Fishing  for  suckers" — "'The  schemes  hack  of 
the   ads" — "The   little    pea   uniler    the   little    shell" 

A  VIEW  OF  THE  SUBJECT  Page  11 

Do  grapes  grow  on  thorns  and  figs  come  from 
thistles? — The  magic  influence  of  printers'  ink — 
Curiosity — Taking  things  for  granted — ""Books  of 
knowledge"  —  "Horoscopes"  —  "Win  at  cards  and 
dice"  —  "Gamblers'  hands"  —  "Lucky  stones"  — 
"Skeleton  keys" — "The  great  secret" — "Magic 
needles" — "Lovers'   sachet" — "The  love  pulmotor" 

PHOTOS   OF   THE    NUDE  Page  23 

Beauty  in  woman — "Bashful  Venus  undraped" — 
"Real  stunners" — "Astonishing  poses" — The  "eye- 
opener  poses" — "Exquisite  delights" — "Images 
galantes" — "Shapely  girls" — The  "nude  in  art" — 
Photos  of  women,  "the  kind  men  want,  but  seldom 
get" — Girls  in  "rich,  warm  poses" — "Men's  favorite 
poses" — "Female  loveliness  at  bath" — "Not  a 
stitch  on  them" — "Spicy,  peppery,  front  views" 
"Bathing  girls" — "Red  hot!" — "Girls  in  swim- 
ming"— "Naughty!" — "Bedroom    Scenes" — Et    cet. 

RICH,  RARE  AND  RACY  BOOKS  Page  31 

"Red  hot,  classy,  full-of-ginger" — "Unvarnished 
language" — "Naked  truth" — "Every  sport  should 
read  it" — "Sent  securely  sealed" — "Greatest  vice 
resort  on  earth" — "Fascinating  descriptions" — 
"From    the    ballroom   to    hell" — "Her    naked    self" 

MAKING  MONEY  IN  THE  MAIL  ORDER  MINT  Page  37 
"Dimes  and  quarters  in  every  mail" — "SlOO  to  S500 
a  month,  experience  unnecessary,  no  capital  re- 
quired"—S  10,000  a  year  in  small  mail  order  busi- 
ness"— "Without  risk" — "Honest" — "Legitimate" — 
"Marvelous  masterpieces  of  money-making  mail 
order  schemes"— "S650,000  in  18  months"— "No 
excuse  for  poverty" — "A  fortune  for  SI" — "S50 
profit  guaranteed  on  SI  capital" — "Fill  your 
pockets  with  gold,  silver  and  greenbacks" — "$250 
a   month  with   two   days'  work" — "S500   for   SlOO" 

BIBLIOGRAPHY  Page  47 


Preface 

There  is  an  almost  universal  desire  in  all  of  us  to 
have  ''lots  of  money."  The  desire  to  get  it  easily  and 
quickly  has  afforded  the  get-rich-quick  promoter  his 
chance  to  "fish  for  suckers."  Indeed,  this  branch  of 
the  piscatorial  art  has  so  large  a  following  of  these 
"anglers"  that  the  government  is  compelled  to  employ 
considerable  "machinery"  in  order  to  keep  these 
covetous  "fishermen"  from  making  "suckers"  where 
none  were  before.  The  classified  advertising  columns 
of  newspapers  and  magazines  have  been  the  medium 
through  which  much  of  the  glittering  "bait"  has  been 
cast  to  catch  the  unwary  and  innocent  "fish." 

But  the  "love  of  money"  is  only  one  among  many 
forms  in  which  the  "average  human"  shows  his  like- 
ness in  gullibility  to  his  finny  brother.  Another  lure 
which  attracts  the  attention  of  many  is  ^^ photos  (of 
women) — the  kind  men  want,  but  seldom  getJ*  In 
the  same  class  is  the  "ric/i,  rare  and  racy  hookT 

The  following  pages  contain  the  amusing  experi- 
ences of  one  who  has  been  curious  to  know  some 
of  the  "schemes  back  of  the  ads" — curious  to 
see  the  "kind  of  photos  men  want,  but  seldom  get"; 
to  read  some  of  the  books,  so-called,  that  are  "rich, 
rare  and  racy";  to  learn  the  "naked"  truth  about 
what  happened  to  Estelle;  to  learn  what  was  the 
"warmest  stuff  ever  put  in  print"  by  reading  "Fast 
Life  in  Chicago,"  with  the  story  of  "how  Olga  got 
broke  in"  and  "Kittie's  thrilling  experiences  with  a 
rounder";  to  learn  the  "moral"  from  the  startling 
truths  revealed  in  "From  the  Ballroom  to  Hell";  why 
only  men  should  read  "Cousin  Maud,"  "A  Woman's 
Blighted  Life,"  "The  Pace  That  Kills"  and  heed  the 
warning  in  "A  Bad  Woman's  Influence,"  and — others! 
how   any  intelligent  person,  without  experience,  in 


10  "FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS" 

spare  time,  may  earn  $15  to  $25  a  week  corresponding 
for  newspapers  and  magazines;  how  to  "go  on  the 
stage";  how  to  learn  a  trade  in  a  few  hours  that  will 
net  $5  and  more  a  day;  how  to  learn  to  paint  pic- 
tures in  one  lesson  with  oil  paints;  how  to  "make 
$2000  easy  money  quick"  for  two  one-cent  stamps; 
how  to  write  "song  poems"  for  publication;  how  to 
get  a  life  job  with  Uncle  Sam,  with  sure  work,  big 
pay,  easy  hours,  long  vacations  and  steady  advance- 
ment; how  to  make  money  in  grain;  how  to  win  at 
cards  and  dice;  how  to  be  a  movie  actor  and  draw  a 
large  salary,  have  pleasant  work  and  travel;  how  S15 
invested  in  some  "great  oil  field"  may  make  S1500; 
how  $10  a  day  may  be  made  tacking  signs;  how  to 
obtain  a  $35  watch  for  55  cents;  how  to  get  25  cents 
apiece  for  names  and  addresses;  how  to  be  a  detec- 
tive at  $300  a  month  and  travel  all  over  the  world; 
how  to  be  a  prospector  (with  a  $50  "dip"  needle) ; 
how  to  make  a  steady  income  knitting  at  home;  how 
to  get  a  big  mail  every  day  of  samples,  circulars  and 
advertising  matter;  how  to  make  $100  a  month  mail- 
ing postcards,  without  capital  or  hard  work;  how  to 
get  a  wife  with  $50,000  in  the  bank;  how  to  raise 
ginseng,  mushrooms  and  Belgian  hares  in  the  back 
yard,  and  last,  but  not  least,  how  a  "fortune  can  be 
made  in  the  mail  order  business,"  without  capital  and 
at  home  during  spare  moments  in  the  evening! 

In  plain  view  a  little  pea  is  rolled  under  one  of 
three  little  shells.  He  who  is  vain  of  his  eyesight, 
but  ignorant  of  the  game,  is  sure  he  knows  under 
which  little  shell  the  little  pea  is  rolled.  It  looks 
like  "easy  money."  If  he  who  reads  this  book  be 
not  as  vain  of  his  reasoning  powers  as  one  who  is 
vain  of  his  eyesight,  this  contribution  to  the  literature 
of  advertising  will  not  be  without  interest,  and — 
amusement. 

G.  T.  W. 


A  View   of  the   Subject 

IS  it  safe  to  say  no  one  believes  grapes  can  grow  on 
thorns  or  figs  come  from  thistles?  Then  why  have 
millions  of  men  and  women  for  centuries  kept  right 
on  getting  "stung"  for  their  surprising  credulity  in 
other  matters  just  as  impossible? 

In  the  olden  time  the  honest  manufacturer  of 
bricks  was  careful  to  place  the  right  amount  of 
"straw"  in  his  clay,  thereby  giving  strength  to  his 
product,  and,  likewise,  assuring  himself  of  "repeat 
orders."  His  wicked  contemporary  made  bricks 
without  "straw,"  selling  them,  no  doubt,  at  the  same 
price  as  the  honest  manufacturer,  and,  in  all  likeli« 
hood  ( he  was  mean  enough ! ) ,  advising  his  credulous 
customer  to  go  ahead  and  build  his  bungalow  on  the 
sand  where  the  waters  washed  around  the  founda- 
tions twice  in  twenty-four  hours. 

Now  he  who  reads  this  book  should  see  that  "one 
can  not  gather  grapes  of  thorns  nor  figs  of  thistles," 
no  matter  how  alluring  the  promise  of  profits  rnay 
be — the  promise  of  sure  cures,  something  for  nothing, 
easy  money,  a  fortune  in  the  mail  order  business, 
get-rich-quick,  certain  kinds  of  photos  and  books,  and 
other  bait  at  which  "suckers"  usually  bite. 

It  is  often  boasted  that  the  American  people  are  a 
nation  of  newspaper  readers,  and  as  such  possess  in 
a  high  degree  a  sense  of  the  importance  of  education 
and  knowledge  of  affairs  of  the  world,  yet  it  is  a  sad 
commentary  on  their  common  sense  that  millions  of 
dollars,  so  government  reports  say,  are  filched  from 
the  pockets  of  thousands  of  persons  every  year  by 
unscrupulous  advertisers. 

Surely  it  "pays  to  advertise,"  and  surely  the  object 


12  "FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS" 

of  advertising  is  to  make  money,  but  when  adver- 
tising appeal  is  a  promise  of  "something  for  nothing" 
or  that  which  the  laws  of  the  nation  forbid  surely  it 
is  time  the  buyer  should  beware. 

If  fraudulent  schemes  can  succeed  in  reaping  a  rich 
harvest  of  golden  dollars  each  year  through  the  me- 
dium of  advertising  and  the  mails,  heralding  all  sorts 
of  wild  cat  mining,  oil  land,  stock  and  investment 
snares,  so-called  "mail  order"  businesses,  home  work 
fakes,  magic  powders  or  perfumes  for  winning  a  per- 
son's love,  divining  rods  for  locating  buried  treasure 
and  "lost"  mines,  "mental  science,"  anti-fat  and  anti- 
lean  prescriptions,  lucky  stones  and  rabbits'  feet,  not 
to  mention  too  seriously  "gold  bricks"  and  "green 
goods,"  it  gives  ample  proof  of  the  "pulling  power" 
of  that  immeasurable  factor  in  civilization  since  the 
invention  of  movable  types,  the  magic  influence  of  a 
well  directed  and  liberal  use  of  Printers'  Ink! 

But  what  else  does  it  prove? 

It  proves  there  must  be  an  astounding  lack  of 
common  sense,  a  surprising  degree  of  credulity  and 
a  vast  amount  of  gullibility  on  the  part  of  a  large 
proportion  of  our  population  on  matters  of  money, 
health,  medicine  and  religion.  But  the  greatest  of 
these  weaknesses  is  gullibility;  in  other  words,  the 
expectation  that  something  can  be  had  for  nothing — 
and  that  they  are  going  to  get  it! 

The  value  and  importance  of  practical  and  efficient 
advertising  to  the  life  of  a  newspaper  or  maga- 
zine, and  to  the  advertiser  as  well,  need  no 
brief  in  their  behalf — this  is  a  fact  plain  enough 
to  all  who  are  really  alive  and  in  possession  of 
that  amount  of  education  and  knowledge  of  affairs 
of  the  world  set  down  in  a  previous  paragraph;  but, 
as  George  French  says  in  his  "Advertising :  The  Social 
and  Economic  Problem,"  "Advertising  has  bred  up  a 
variety  of  methods  of  getting  money  without  fairly 


"FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS"  13 

earning  it,  and  tliose  methods  will  be  held  tenaciously 
by  the  unscrupulous  and  greedy." 

Possibly  there  are  few  who  have  not  heard  of  the 
"machine  that  made  money,"  and  the  sickening  de- 
nouement that  followed  when  the  purchaser  tried  to 
"work"  the  thing  himself;  of  the  cure  for  horse 
slobbering  by  teaching  that  animal  to  spit;  of  the 
"authorized"  steel  engraving  of  President  Garfield 
for  SI  which  turned  out  to  be  a  5-cent  postage  stamp; 
of  the  sure  death  to  potato  bugs  by  placing  the  insect 
on  a  block  of  wood  and  smashing  it  with  another;  of 
the  "infallible  instructions"  on  how  to  raise  beets  by 
"planting  your  feet  firmly  on  the  ground,  take  tight 
hold  of  the  tops,  and  pull";  of  the  "absolutely  sure" 
way  to  "double  your  money"  by  "converting  the  same 
into  bills  and  fold  them";  of  the  "sure  system  of 
winning  at  the  races"  which,  for  $5,  brought  just 
two  words,  "Sell  tips";  of  the  "only  absolutely  sure 
cure  for  drunkards  that  has  ever  been  discovered," 
in  which  it  was  said,  "Sign  the  pledge  and  keep  it"; 
of  "Three  yards  of  fine  silk  for  25c,"  which  was  only 
9  feet  of  silk  thread;  of  "How  to  make  an  impression 
that  has  never  failed,"  addressed  to  young  women, 
who  for  their  SI  received  the  advice,  "Sit  down  in  a 
pan  of  dough";  of  the  "minister"  who  "chanced" 
upon  some  seeds  of  Jonah's  gourd,  of  Bible  fame, 
while  on  a  visit  to  the  Holy  Land,  and,  desiring  to 
distribute  them  among  Bible  students,  on  receipt  of 
SI  per  seed,  sent  "de-natured"  pumpkin  seeds;  of  the 
"book  for  gamblers,"  which  was  a  Bible;  of  the 
directions  and  materials  for  "drawing"  a  tooth  with- 
out pain,  which,  for  50  cents,  brought  a  piece  of  paper 
and  a  pencil;  of  "home  work"  schemers  who  adver- 
tise that  S15  to  S25  a  week  may  be  made  at  home,  but 
first,  please,  send  them  from  $1  to  S50  for  "machines" 
or  "outfits";  of  the  inducement  to  copy  letters  at 
home  at  S20  per  thousand,  which  work  was  speedily 
dropped  after  remitting  $1  for  an  "outfit"  consisting 


14  "FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS" 

of  a  pen  and  penliolder;  of  the  old,  old  style  of  "get- 
rich-quick"  advertiser  who  could  tell  everybody  "how 
to  live  without  work"  by  advising  "Fish  for  suckers, 
as  we  do,"  or  like  another  who  said,  "Work  like  hell 
and  never  spend  a  cent" — and  many,  many  others — 
all  insincere,  deceptive  and  fraudulent,  and  each  in 
its  own  way  designed  to  excite  the  curiosity  and 
credulity  of  the  gullible. 

It  is  sometimes  hard  to  decide  which  is  the  greater — the 
impudence  of  the  quack  or  the  credulity  of  his  victims.  The 
comparative  ease  with  which  the  medical  faker  is  able,  bj  the 
most  preposterous  claims,  to  separate  the  trusting  from  their 
money  indicates  the  enormous  potentialities  in  advertising. 
It  might  be  supposed  that  an  individual  who  set  out  to  sell, 
as  a  panacea  for  all  the  ills  of  the  flesh,  a  piece  of  brass  pipe 
with  one  or  two  wires  attached  to  it,  would,  commercially 
speaking,  have  a  hard  and  rocky  road  before  him.  But  such 
a  supposition  would  be  incorrect.  Not  only  would  the  enter- 
prising faker  find  customers  for  his  gas  pipe  but  there  would 
be  such  a  demand  for  this  most  inane  of  "therapeutic"  devices 
that  two  or  three  imitators  would  immediately  enter  the 
market. — Nostrums  and  Quackery,  1912,  p.  295. 

Curiosity  is  recognized  as  the  "mail  order  man's 
chance."  Many  persons  answer  "blind"  advertise- 
ments with  no  thought  of  sending  any  money — merely 
wishing  to  find  out  what  the  ad  is  all  about.  The 
American  people  have  a  great  big  streak  of  this 
characteristic  in  their  makeup — one  mail  order  man 
saying,  "they  are  worse  than  crows,  who,  when  they 
see  anything  curious  that  they  do  not  understand,  will 
keep  nosing  around  closer  and  closer  till  they  find  out 
what  it  is."  Recognizing  that  curiosity  prompts  a 
large  percentage  of  inquiries,  the  advertiser  "follows 
up"  his  "curiosity  seeker"  with  letters  and  circulars 
that  are  calculated  to  excite  further  the  agreeable 
expectation  of  getting  "something  for  nothing." 

"The  habit  of  taking  things  for  granted,"  says 
H.  Addington  Bruce,  in  a  newspaper  article,  "The 
Cost  of  Credulity,"  "of  accepting  the  statements  of 
others  without  stopping  to  consider  the  grounds  on 


"FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS"  15 

which  they  are  based,  is  one  of  the  coininonest  fail- 
ings of  mankind.  It  is  also  one  of  the  costliest.  Its 
cost  is  measured  not  merely  in  dollars  and  cents,  but 
in  human  life." 

Relyino;  on  the  widespread  tendency  to  credulity, 
the  swindler  boldly  proclaims  his  "sure  cures"  and 
"get-rich-cjuick"  schemes,  and  confidently  awaits  the 
response  the  mails  will  bring  him.  His  confidence  is 
seldom  misplaced,  if  the  truth  has  been  told  by 
Collier's,  the  World's  Work,  the  Outlook,  the  Journal 
of  the  American  Medical  Association  and  many  other 
publications  which  have  sought  to  expose  traps  and 
pitfalls  laid  by  quacks  and  fakers. 

The  wonderful  growth  of  the  motion  picture 
business  has  stimulated  the  desire  of  many  men 
and  women  to  become  scenario  writers  (or  movie 
actors  or  actresses).  It  has  also  stimulated  the  desire 
of  certain  mail  order  persons  to  profit  by  this  wide- 
spread ambition.  The  lure  is  held  out  that  a  fortune 
may  be  made  in  spare  time,  that  experience  or  liter- 
ary ability  is  unnecessary,  that  the  demand  for 
photoplays  is  far  in  excess  of  the  supply.  The  most 
misleading  part  of  the  advertising  of  those  who  claim 
to  show  the  way  to  this  "easy  money"  is  that  "any  one 
can  do  it."  But  the  scenario  editors  of  the  leading 
moving  picture  producing  companies  seem  to  be 
unanimous  in  the  opinion  that  "every  one  can  not 
do  it,"  that  inspiration,  the  habit  of  oliservation,  the 
plot-gerrn,  the  idea,  can  not  be  taught  through  the 
medium  of  the  United  States  mail.  Nearly  all  the 
ads  of  these  so-called  "moving  picture  companies" 
state  that  photoplays  are  "wanted,"  that  S25  to  SlOO 
is  paid  for  them,  seemingly  by  the  advertiser,  but  an 
answer  to  the  ad  usually  brings  the  information  that 
a  book  on  "how  to  write  photoplays"  is  for  sale  by 
them. 

In  regard  to  "writing  for  newspapers   and  maga- 


16  "FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS" 

zines"  the  above  statement  may  well  apply — any 
one  and  every  one  can  not  do  it,  no  matter  how 
assviring  may  be  the  promise  of  the  generous  sellers 
of  "instructions"  on  "how  to  do  it."  To  get  a  "steady 
income*'  of  "$15  to  $35  a  week  corresponding  for 
newspapers"  needs  a  bigger  start  than  can  be  found 
in  any  $1  or  $2  "book  of  instructions"  that  has  come 
this  way. 

The  "wise  men  of  the  east"  certainly  had  nothing 
on  the  "wise  men"  of  the  west — when  it  comes  to 
"getting  the  stuff."  Did  they  ever  know  how  to  make 
$50  a  month,  using  only  ten  minutes  a  day?  or  how 
$3000  yearly  might  be  got  out  of  a  back  yard?  There 
was  grain  in  those  days,  but  is  it  recorded  that  any 
one  of  them  knew  of  the  "opportunity"  for  "taking" 
$500  from  an  investment  of  $10  in  "puts"  or  calls"? 
There  was  "oil"  in  those  days,  but  where  is  it  written 
that  the  "Jerusalem  Co-Operative  Oil  Company"  held 
out  the  lure  of  10,000  percent  interest  on  the  shekels 
invested?  It's  a  long  way,  and  a  long  time,  from 
Jerusalem  (B.C.)  to  the  UnitedStates  in  1916,but  we're 
here! — with  "books  of  knowledge,"  "horoscopes," 
"gamblers'  hands,"  "goldometers,"  "lucky  stones," 
"marked  cards"  and  "loaded  dice"  now  happily 
within  the  reach  of  all!  And,  lest  we  forget,  "skele- 
ton keys,"  for  25  cents,  that  will  unlock  all  common 
door  locks! 

LOOK!  Skeleton  keys;  just  the  thing  you  need;  unlocks 
all  common  door  locks.     Set,  25c. 

A  fine  chance  here  for  the  amateur  burglar  to  get 
some  tools  of  the  trade  for  only  25c. 

MY  VISIT  to  the  spirit  world.  Paradise  described;  mar- 
velous, up-lifting,  inspiring;  what  loved  ones  are  doing. 
Pamphlet,  25c. 

A  very  small  price  for  so  much  "marvelous,  up- 
lifting, inspiring"  information,  indeed. 


"FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS'  17 

A  LETTER  written  by  Jesus  Christ  found  just  after 
death;  a  copy  will  be  sent  for  SI  paper;  no  stamps. 

Ill  plain  la!i«jjiiage,  this  does  not  read  on  the  level, 
else  why  so  insistent  on  "81  paper;  no  stamps"? 
THE  GREAT  SECRET— How  you  can   make  >our  lover 
or   sweetheart    love   you;    they    just   must    love   you;    they 
can't  help   themselves.     This  secret   is  based   on   scientific 
principles  and  can  not  fail.     Send  25c  in  silver. 

The  "seientilie  principle"  is  thus  divulged  for  the 
two  bits: 

Your  letter  of  recent  date  at  hand,  and  in  reply  will  say 
that  to  win  the  woman  you  love  you  must  constantly  think 
with  your  whole  soul's  intensity  that  you  want  her  to  love  you; 
in  addition  to  that  you  must  not  drink.  Keep  clean  and  neat 
in  your  dress.  Be  polite  and  attentive  to  her.  Be  generous, 
for  women  hate  stinginess  in  men,  but  dearly  love  generosity. 
Be  brave,  for  women  hate  cowards  and  love  bravery.  Be  firm; 
women  hate  triflers.  Walk  with  your  head  and  shoulders  well 
thrown  back;  be  dignified;  be  courteous  and  every  inch  a 
gentleman.  Flattery  goes  a  long  ways  to  win  a  woman,  but 
don't  overdo  it.  Don't  be  bashful,  as  women  hate  bashfulness 
in  men,  but  love  bold  men.     Yours  for  suckers.  Prof.  X. 

Another  "professor,"  who  had  "wonderful  powers" 
when  his  hand  was  crossed  with  gold,  sent  to  remitters 
of  S37.50  a  "gambler's  hand,"  to  wit: 

I  take  pleasure  in  sending  you  my  gambling  hand  and  all 
that  goes  with  it.  When  you  get  it  sew  it  up  in  a  piece  of  soft 
leather  and  carry  it  in  your  pocket  with  your  money.  Let  no 
one  handle  it,  and  keep  it  as  dry  as  you  can.  I  will  send  you 
nine  candles  to  use  one  at  a  time — Monday,  Wednesday  and 
Friday  nights.  Light  one  and  set  it  down  on  a  brick.  Do  not 
touch  it  for  one  hour;  then  throw  ashes  on  the  floor  and  press 
your  feet  on  them. 

WIN  AT  CARDS  and  dice;  absolutely  impossible  to  lose 
if  you  follow  instructions.  Protect  yourself.  Circular 
10c.     Men  only. 

The  "instructions"  are  contained  in  a  book  pur- 
porting to  "expose"  all  the  secret  systems,  methods, 
tricks  and  devices  for  cheating  with  dice,  dice  tops, 
cards,  hold-outs,  reflectors,  magnets,  etc.,  at  craps, 
poker,  faro,  roulette,  chuck-luck,  billiards  and  pool. 


18  "FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS" 

and  other  games;  schemes  for  beating  slot  machines; 
race  track  systems,  and  many  other  gambling  secrets. 
The  book  is  said  to  be  sold  only  for  "your  protection 
against  gambling  and  gambling  devices,"  and  not  for 
unlawful  purposes  ! 

THE  CHANCE  of  a  lifetime;  if  you  have  a  hundred 
dollars  or  so  to  invest,  let  me  tell  you  how  to  become 
independent  for  life. 

A   FORTUNE— Buy   Indian   Lucky   Stone,   guaranteed  to 
bring   health,   happiness,   business    success   or   return   and 
get  your  money  back  within  15  days.     Price  SI. 
Sooner  or  later,  one  who  answers  many  ads  relating 
to  "lucky  stones,"  "divining  rods,"  "magic  needles" 
and    so-called    "miracle-working"    articles    from    the 
Holy    Land,    wherein    "  guarantees "    are    given    of 
"health,   happiness    and   business    success,"    is    going 
to    get    his    hopeful    letters    of    inquiry    returned    to 
him  by  order  of  the  Postmaster  General,  who  also 
directs  that  the  word  "FRAUDULENT"  (in  red  ink) 
be  stamped  on  the  face  of  the  envelope. 

FACTS  WORTH  KNOWING— One  dollar  will  bring  you 

the  Hindoo  Lucky  Stone;  wonderful;  every  one  wants  it. 

LUCKY  EGYPTIAN   METAL,  with  your   name   cut  on. 

Guaranteed. 

Puzzle:     What's  "guaranteed"? 

LOADED  DICE,  82  per  pair.    Marked  cards,  SI  per  deck. 

Marked  cards  and  loaded  dice  !     What  for  ? 

UNDERGROUND  TREASURES— How  and  where  to  find 

them  guaranteed.     Particulars  for  stamp. 

The  ad  says,  "How  and  where  to  find  them  guaran- 
teed,'" but  the  circular  describing  a  "miner's  compass 
dip  needle"  says  "This  (the  needle)  is  a  substantial 
and  reliable  instrument  designed  for  locating  Iron. 
And  owing  to  the  well-known  fact  that  the  buried 
money  and  valuables  which  have  been  recovered  have 
generally  been  found  in  a  heavy  Iron  pot  or  kettle  of 
some  kind,  this  Dip  Needle  will  evidently  prove 
valuable  to  persons  looking  for  such  treasures.     Un- 


"FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS"  19 

derstand,  we  are  not  contending  that  money  or 
jewelry  will  attract  it,  but  are  reasoning  that  few 
people  would  bury  valuables  in  cloth,  paper,  wood, 
tin  or  other  perishable  containers,  but  would  use  a 
heavy  Iron  vessel  to  protect  it.  And  in  which  case 
only  the  instrument  we  are  offering  here  would  rea- 
sonably assist  in  locating  it."  The  price  of  the 
"needle"  is  $20. 

MAGIC  NEEDLES — Goldonieters,  etc.,  for  treasure 
seekers.  Millions  of  wealth  under  your  feet.  Prospect 
for  mines  and  lost  treasure. 

RODS  and  miners'  dip  needles  sold.  Fortunes  made 
prospecting.  We  furnish  instruments  (free).  Simply 
give  us  one-fourth  of  all  finds  you  make.  We  have 
everything  for  the  prospector.     Circulars,  10c. 

A  letter  asking  for  circular  was  returned  by  order 
of  the  Postmaster  General. 

For  those  in  love — or  about  to  be — there  are  offered 
in  many  ads  "Lovers'  Perfume,"  "Lovers'  Powder" 
and  "Lovers'  Sachet,"  to  "win  sweethearts"  and  "make 
them  go  wild  over  you."    Thus: 

LOVERS'  SACHET — Win  sweethearts,  either  sex;  used 
personally  or  in  correspondence;  never  fails;  without 
delay;  double  strength;  makes  them  go  wild  over  you! 
Powder  and   directions  for  use,  25c. 

This  class  of  comedy  is  tough  on  the  vest  buttons. 

Samuel  Hopkins  Adams,  in  the  New  York  Tribune, 
July  16,  1916,  under  the  head,  "Mail  Order  Tricksters 
Hooked  by  Government,"  says,  instead  of  landing  a 
well  known  species  of  "fish,"  which  Barnum  credited 
with  a  remarkably  high  birth  rate,  some  wily  anglers 
got  landed  themselves.  The  story  of  the  "love  pul- 
motor"  is  here  given: 

Artificial  respiration  is  a  great  thing,  but  what  would  you 
think  of  a  Love  Pulmotor?  No  such  thing?  All  right,  read 
this  advertisement.  It  goes  even  further— it  promises  not 
merely  to  revive  but  to  create  love — undying  love: 

AN  EMBROIDERED  SILK  HANDKERCHIEF  full  of 
new,  sensational,  suggestive   and   Oriental  perfume;    mag- 


20  "FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS" 

netic,  ideal  and  mysterious.  The  same  is  diffused  sweetly 
and  stimulates  and  reciprocates  the  affections  and  makes 
love  irresistible.  If  you  offer  the  odor  of  this  exquisite 
perfumed  handkerchief  to  a  youn^  lady  of  your  acquaint- 
ance she  will  become  attracted  with  deep  affections  toward 
you;  if  accepted  as  a  present,  a  mysterious  force  will 
compel  her  to  love  you  unconsciously,  keeping  always  the 
affection  because  of  the  sensational  perfume.  It  can  be 
sent,  together  with  full  instructions,  for  the  sum  of  81.25. 

This  advertisement  sold  handkerchiefs,  but  not  satisfaction. 
It  lacked  one  feature  of  good  merchandising.  It  carried  no 
guarantee.  Perhaps  there  was  a  reason.  The  handkerchief 
is  as  poor  in  quality  as  its  advertised  description  is  rich  in 
adjectives.  It  is  about  as  potent  to  make  love  irresistible  as 
would  be  a  confidential  eulogy  to  your  best  girl  of  her  dearest 
enemy.  Can  you  imagine  a  lovelorn  swain  waving  that  love 
inspiring  bit  of  silk  in  mysterious,  magnetic  circles  about  the 
head  of  his  heart's  desire  and  watchfully  waiting  for  its 
Oriental  power  to  develop  a  dollar  and  a  quarter's  worth  of 
limitless  affection?  If  you  can  imagine  that  you  would  have 
bought  the  mystic  handkerchief.  The  postoffice  inspector  who 
investigated  this  advertiser  had  no  imagination.  He  was 
better  acquainted  with  cupidity  than  he  was  with  Cupid.  He 
reported,  presumably  after  an  unsuccessful  test,  that  "the 
handkerchief  possessed  no  virtue  whatever  for  the  purpose  for 
which  it  was  purchased. " 

ARE  YOU  ON?  We'll  show  you  how  to  get  the  money 
without  being  ashamed  to  take  it. 

DON'T  START  A  MAIL  ORDER  BUSINESS— Be  a  pro- 
moter and  start  others.  Make  $25  to  S50  weekly.  Send  a 
dime  for  sample  and  plan. 

That's  the  stuff!  Be  a  promoter  and  start  others. 
But  perhaps  you  would  prefer  to  originate  your  own 
plan  of  starting  others — there  certainly  would  be 
"more  in  it  for  you." 

COULD  YOU  USE  MORE  MONEY?— Send  25c  for  plan 
of  mail  order  business  that  brings  dimes  and  quarters  in 
nearly  every  mail. 

LEARN   ABOUT  THE  MAIL   ORDER  BUSINESS— We 

positively  guarantee  success.     Write  today.     Your  golden 
opportunity.     Send  25c  for  complete  plan. 
WHY     LOOK     FOR     A     POSITION?— Capitalize     your 
talents.     You  can  make  SlOO  to  $200  a  month. 


"FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS"  21 

I  HAVE  ONE  OF  THE  MOST  SIMPLE  and  easy  propo- 
sitions for  making  big  money  in  the  mail  order  business, 
all  or  spare  time.  Absolutely  no  capital  required.  Let 
me  show  you  how.     Complete  instructions  for  silver  dime. 

This  species  of  advertising  has  reached  its  flood 
and,  seemingly,  its  ebh  set  in,  for  many  newspapers 
and  magazines  are  now  exchiding  advertisements 
offering  to  start  any  one  in  the  mail  order  business, 
to  furnish  or  to  sell  mail  order  plans,  mail  order 
secrets,  or  a  course  of  instructions  in  the  mail  order 
business;  circular  distributing  schemes;  securing 
names  and  addresses  or  mailing  lists  for  mail  order 
houses;  detective  schemes,  offering  to  teach  by  mail 
any  one  and  every  one  how  to  become  a  detective; 
publishers  of  song  poems,  charging  a  fee  for  setting 
to  music,  printing  and  creating  a  demand  for  songs; 
home  work  schemes  of  all  kinds — writing  at  home, 
knitting,  sewing  at  home,  and  all  other  home  work 
schemes. 

Note.— The  italics  used  in  the  ads  reprinted  in  this  book  are 
by  the  author — the  emphasis  apparent. 


I 

1 

1 

"MINIATURES," 

one   advertiser  says,  "Don't  show 

much,"  but  adds  that  in  the 

originals  you  will  get  a 

"SURPRISE." 

S'il  faut  que  quelque  chose  tombe, 
Mieux  vaut  la  chemise  que  les  seins! 

ii  A  S   men   we  know   that  it  is  natural  for  men  tc 
love  this  kind  of  art — of  beautiful  girls  in  nudt 
and  semi-nude.     Where  is  the  man  who  doesn't?" 

^     ^     ^ 

Any  man  who  gazes  upon  a  nude  form  tvith  lus 
is  a  degenerate  and  needs  to  be  pitied.    Only  coward, 
blush  at  the  sight  of  the  nude  form.— MWe.  Porter. 

I 

I 

5 

Photos   of   the   Nude 

"Kind  men  ivant,  but  seldom  get" 

BEAUTY  in  woman  holds  a  unique  and  romantic 
place  in  the  world's  history.  From  the  golden 
locks  of  that  Helen  who  "launched  a  thousand  ships 
and  burnt  the  topless  towers  of  Ilium,"  or  the  "raven 
tresses  of  the  Nile"  for  which  Marc  Antony  flipped 
away  a  kinirdom,  to  the  radiant  faces  on  the  latest 
magazine  covers  of  today  feminine  loveliness  has  been 
the  inspiration  of  many  masterpieces  of  every  art. 
Its  present-day  commercial  value  in  advertising,  not 
only  as  an  attention-getter  but  to  show  the  beauty  or 
utility  of  the  thing  advertised,  is  well  known.  Indeed, 
it  can  truly  be  said  that  woman's  keenness  for  the 
exploitation  of  her  charms  is  one  of  the  oldest  and 
still  one  of  the  most  persistent  forms  of  advertising- - 
and  hard  to  beat!  The  popular  picture  postcard  of 
recent  years  has  been  one  of  the  greatest  disseminators 
of  female  loveliness.  Its  range  of  subjects  has  em- 
braced all  forms  of  art  and  many  forms  of  impudence. 
Pretty  women  have  ever  attracted  men — the  saint  and 
the  sinner.  And  pictures  of  pretty  women,  whether 
clothed  in  the  apotheosis  of  femininity  or  revealed  in 
the  flesh  of  youth  (particularly  the  latter),  are  often 
sought  by  some  men.  Now  let  us  look  into  some  kinds 
of  advertising  that  contain  the  startling  assertion  (or 
is  it  the  gift  of  inspiration?)  that  there  are  pictures  of 
women  which  men  want,  but  seldom  get! 

Photos,  "the  kind  men  want,  but  seldom  get,"  as 
many  advertisements  read,  touch  the  imagination  as 


24  "FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS" 

quickly  as  any  appeal  made  to  the  young  man.  The 
erotic  element  in  youth  prompts  boys  (and  many  of 
their  elders  as  well )  to  answer  this  class  of  advertise- 
ments in  the  hope  of  getting  photographs  of  pretty 
young  women  in  "rich,  warm  poses,"  just  "before 
bath,"  "rare  as  you  wish,"  "men's  favorite  poses," 
"real  stunners,"  "bashful  Venus  undraped,"  "hoochee- 
coochee  girls,"  "female  loveliness  at  bath,"  "daring," 
"stunning,"  "fascinating,"  "bewitching,"  "nature 
poses,"  "red  hot  photos,"  "snapped  in  her  den," 
"little  Miss  Mabel  alone,"  "spicy,"  "peppery," 
"front  views,"  and  so  on  in  a  profusion  of  suggestive 
phrases. 

The  seductive  appeal  is  everywhere  apparent  in  the 
"copy"  of  this  branch  of  the  "fine  art  of  advertising," 
its  "persuasiveness"  seldom  being  equaled  as  a 
"puller"  of  dimes  and  dollars  from  the  youth  whose 
mind  is  seduced  by  the  insinuation  that  "our  photos 
are  the  kind  men  want,  but  seldom  get." 

The  kind  men  want,  but  seldom  get! 

Although  the  implication  contained  in  the  above 
seven  words  surpasses  anything  to  be  found  in 
Edouard  Fuchs'  "Element  Erotique  dans  la  Carica- 
ture" or  John  Grand-Carteret's  "Images  Galantes"  or 
"Decollete  et  Retrousse,"  books  possessing  great  his- 
torical and  artistic  interest,  one  is  constrained  to  be- 
lieve that  the  "visions"  aroused  in  some  minds  by 
this  "attention-getter"  might  even  equal  the  realistic 
illustration  by  Giulio  Romano  for  Aretino's  "Sonnetti 
Lussuriosi." 

Perhaps  the  reader  would  like  to  be  left  to  his  own 
reflections — for  a  while! 


The  erotic  element  in  human  nature  is  an  essential 
force — it  is  a  fundamental  principle.  It  is  not  an 
evil  thing  in  itself — it  is  only  debasing  when  serving 


"FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS"  25 

ijriiohle  ends.  ''There  is  iiothint;  essentially  impure 
about  the  sex  feeling,"  says  Dr.  Frank  Crane,  writing 
on  "Sex."  ''On  the  contrary,  the  most  beautiful,  the 
most  refining,  the  most  conserving  and  wholesome 
elements  of  a  man's  or  woman's  experience  are  due 
directly  and  indirectly  to  this  natural  instinct.  .  .  . 
When  shall  we  get  over  the  long  error  of  medievalism 
that  'all  desire  of  the  flesh  hath  in  it  something  of 
evil'?" 

The  intent  of  the  phrase,  "kind  men  want,  but 
seldom  get,"  is  obvious.  But  seldom,  indeed,  are 
the  "photos"  that  come  from  the  "studios"  of  those 
who  offer  tliem  anything  more  than  harmless  pictures 
of  sometimes  comely  models  whose  poses  are  far  from 
suggestive  of  "spice,"  "pepper,"  or  other  "warmths." 
yet  giving  the  beholder  an  inkling  of  their  endearing 
voung  charms — sometimes!  Honi  soil  qui  mal  y 
pcnsv! 

One  of  the  earliest  of  the  photo  ads  a  "certain 
party"  recalls  (at  a  time  when  he  believed  he  could 
admire  the  "nude  in  art"  at  its  true  value)  was  the 
following: 

THREE    genuine    photos    from    life!       "Out    of    sight!" 
Cabinet  size.     Sent  sealed,  SI. 

O!  the  disillusion!  The  three  "genuine  photos 
from  life"  received  gave  good  evidence  that  some 
poor,  old  family  photograph  album  had  suffered 
theft! 

Though  expectations  were  thus  rudely  crushed  by 
one  to  whom  had  been  given  confidence,  and  a  one- 
dollar  bill,  it  was  not  long  before  another  advertiser 
beckoned  to  the  novice  to  buy  a  set  of  "photos  from 
the  nude" — not  from  life  merely,  this  time.  There 
could  be  no  mistake — the  ad  said  so — "photos  from 
the  nude.''    The  appeal  was  thus: 


26  "FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS" 

PHOTOS  of  the  nude!  Set  of  10  photos,  sharp  and  clear, 
brilliant  in  execution,  daring  in  pose,  absolutely  unique; 
a  veritable  panorama  of  exquisite  delights!  Prospectus 
and  sample  on  request  to  gentlemen  only. 

Here,  surely,  was  a  sample,  at  least,  of  what  was  in 
Btore.  tn  due  time  the  sample  and  prospectus  arrived. 
It  was  an  alluring  and  seductive  promise  of  '''scenes 
impitdiques  des  luhricites,  des  voluptes  egrillardes  ct 
spirituclles,  du  nu  ct  des  decolletes  piqiiants,  dans 
tout  Vinipudence  de  Vijupudicite,"  or  words  and  mean- 
ing to  that  effect,  (with  apologies  to  O.  Uzanne), 
which  few  "gentlemen"  could  resist  (as  afterward 
proved ) .  The  "sample"  photo,  though  provokingly 
small,  visually  "backed  up"  the  glowing  promise  of 
the  prospectus.  To  enjoy  the  possession  of  these 
"exquisite  delights"  it  required  the  remittance  of  So,  a 
paltry  sum  when  compared  with  what  one  might 
expect  for  his  money.  But  Uncle  Sam  got  wind  of  the 
fact  that  nothing  whatever  was  sent  in  return  for  the 
S5 — it  was  a  skin  game,  pure  and  simple — not  exactly 
"pure,"  but  very  simple  in  operation,  as  it  was  said 
more  than  10,000  "gentlemen"  responded  quickly  to 
the  "appeal"  of  that  prospectus! 

But  that  was  more  than  25  years  ago!  Skin  games 
of  today  have  their  prototypes  in  those  of  yesterday. 
In  this  world  where  everything  must  change  with  the 
passing  years  it  is  only  natural  that  the  faker,  in 
whatever  line  he  seeks  to  play  his  cunning  hand, 
should  adopt  new  methods  of  deception  in  catching 
the  unwary  and  credulous — yet  always  playing  upon 
the  gullibility  of  those  he  wishes  to  entrap. 

The  following  are  some  types  of  the  "photo"  ads 
of  recent  years.  In  many  of  them,  it  will  be  noted, 
there  is  the  insinuation  that  the  "goods"  are  for  "men 
only" — and  though  you  may  have  believed  that  "a 
thing  of  beauty  is  a  joy  forever,"  and  that  the  lines 
of  the  Venus  de  Milo,  typifying  the  perfect  female 


"FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS"  27 

figure,  are  the  essence  of  beauty,  it  would  never  do, 
8eeniin<ily.  for  any  one  but  man  to  jjaze,  and  then  in 
privacy,  \vitli  wondering  eyes,  upon  so  much  "female 
loveliness  unadorned"  as  a  "bashful  Venus"  in  a 
pose  both  "rich  and  warm"  in  artistic  conception  and 
true  to  life  in  photographic  detail! 
Regalez-vous,  messieurs! 

IMAGES  GALANTES 

SIX  PRETTY  GIRLS  IN  SWIMMING— Nudes,  semi- 
nudes,  skin-tijiht  suits,  all  different,  photofiraphed  from 
life;   daring  poses;  every  one  a  peach!     3  for  25c, 

Not  SO  many  years  ago  it  was  noised  about  by  some 
reformers  that  photos  of  the  nude  (in  "spicy," 
"daring,"  "stunning"  and  other  "attractive"  posings) 
were  the  cause  of  the  moral  destruction  of  thousands 
of  young  men.  In  recent  days  other  reformers  and 
moralists  declare  that  filmy  waists  with  georgette 
sleeves,  expansive  "V"  necks,  and  the  lovely  revela- 
tions of  female  legs  smartly  fitted  in  fine  silk  stockings 
of  novelty  stripes  and  colors  beneath  diaphanously  thin 
skirts  are  corrupting  and  destroying  our  morals — even 
more  responsible  than  anything  else  for  "waves  of 
immorality"  and  the  "downfall  of  young  men."  The 
debaele  must  now  be  almost  complete,  after  all  that's 
been  heard  about  the  "one-piece,"  sans  stockings,  at 
Palm  Beach,  Galveston  and  the  California  beaches^ 
where,  "they  say,"  pink  one-piece  suited,  full- 
bosomed,  knee-dimpled  Venuses  of  the  "perfect  36" 
from  the  cities  vie  with  other  mermaids  in  their 
unveiled  charms  of  nature  (sans  tout!). 

American  "mermaids"  are  not  going  to  listen  to 
any  old  prudish  suggestions — neither  are  the  photo 
makers!  Since  there's  no  "standard"  for  anything 
we  wear  except  what  frivolous  fashion  dictates,  bath- 
ing suits  and  bathing  girls,  plus  stunning  figures,  will 
ever  be  alluring — especially  the  one-piece  suit  a  la 
Kellermann.     "A  bare  leg  is  no  worse  than  a  bare 


28  "FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS" 

arm,"  says  Mile.  Porter,  and  she  further  asserts,  with 
reference  to  the  nude,  that  "any  man  who  gazes  upon 
a  nude  form  with  lust  is  a  degenerate  and  needs  to  be 
pitied.  Only  cowards  blush  at  the  sight  of  the  nude 
form."    You  see,  beauty  must  be  served ! 

That  good  photos  of  pretty  bathing  girls  are 
"charmers"  no  one  will  deny,  but  the  nub,  the  rub,  or 
the  hub,  or  whatever  you  call  it,  is  that  one  is  often 
"stung"  when  he  seeks  to  invest  in  a  collection  of  this 
kind  of  "art." 

With  the  great  popularity  of  "swimming  for  women" 
has  come  the  bathing  girl  in  all  her  glory — in  "stun- 
ning" suits  and  in  newspaper  pictures.  From  Old 
Orchard  to  Palm  Beach,  Galveston  and  Corpus 
Christi,  and  from  San  Diego  to  Seattle,  she  is  the 
observed  of  all  observers.  Once  her  greatest  problem 
was  to  be  alluring  and  proper  at  the  same  time — but 
that  problem  has  now  been  solved  by  the  "new  free- 
dom" for  bathing  girls,  who,  a  la  Mabel  Normand, 
decide  that  beauty's  business,  first,  last  and  all  the 
time,  is  to  be  charming.    Let  the  critics  be  proper ! 

BEDROOM  SCENES— Girls  swimming  and  on  bank  nude; 
retiring,  in  bed;  nude  bunch  in  the  woods.     6  for  SI. 

Very  misleading.  Four  photos  are  reproductions 
of  familiar  paintings,  the  other  two  being  from  life — 
mais  sauf  et  sain. 

"I'M  READY,"  dainty,  fascinating  vision  of  female  love- 
liness; kind  men  want;  can't  describe  here!     10c. 

Distance  lends  enchantment!  "Fm  Ready"  (post- 
card) is  a  young  woman  in  a  bathing  suit,  of  course, 
but  the  "symmetrical  scenery"  is  obscured  by  too 
much  suit. 

BEAUTIFUL  GIRLS  in  bewitching  poses,  "true  to  nature." 
Sent  sealed.    Men  only. 

A  "nifty"  bunch  of  "beach  and  diving  beauties"  in 
one-piece  bathing  suits.     Also  some  "gems  of  art"  in 


"FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS"  29 

which  the  photographer  is  said  to  have  done  his  best 
to  show  "rich,  warm  beauty  of  female  loveliness." 

RARE,    fascinating     female    beauty    poses;     "thicks"    in 
negligee;  six  different,  extraordinary  photos,  25c. 

Clever  photographic  reprints  of  imported  postcards 
of  an  unusually  attractive  young  woman  whose  poses 
glorify  the  unmentionable  fascination  of  unadorned 
parts. 

GENUINE    imported    photos    of    beautiful    and    shapely 

models  in  unconventional  poses;  finely  finished.     Gratify 

that  desire!     Six,  SI.    Men  only. 

"Unconventional  poses"  may  be  either  "on  pur- 
pose"— or  not.  (Yes?  Thank  you!)  The  phrase, 
"Gratify  that  desire,"  is  what  got  the  above  ad  into 
this  book.  However,  the  photos  reveal,  not  '^scenes 
impudiques  des  lubricites,"  but  the  endearing  young 
charms  of  female  loveliness  in  decollete,  retrousse, 
dishabille  and  negligee. 

REAL   PHOTOS   FROM    LIVE   BEAUTIES— Guaranteed 
against  disappointment.     Sample   and   10   miniatures,  25c. 

The  sample  is  a  reproduction  of  an  imported  photo 
and  the  miniatures,  as  the  advertiser  says,  "don't  show 
much,"  but  adds  that  in  the  originals  you  will  find  a 
"surprise." 

MYSTIFYING  AND  ASTONISHING  POSES  of  girls  and 
boys  before  marriage!     Best  and  latest  out, 

!     !     1 

POSTCARDS  YOU  LIKE— Front  views!       Strictly  new, 
rich  and  warm!     State  age. 

How  old  are  you?     (Because,  they're  front  views!) 

RAVISHING! — We    certainly    have    the    fruit    that    beats 
them  all!     "She's  without  togs — a  beaut  and  a  thriller!" 
50c  coin  or  stamps  brings  her.     Men  only, 
THREE  real  eye-opener  poses  of  girls;  red  hot,  peppery 
kind.     "Little  Miss  Mabel"  in  two  realistic  nature  poses. 

Now,  just  what  do  you  think  would  be  a  "real  eye- 


30  "FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS" 

opener   pose"    of    a    girl? — or   one    of   the    "red-hot, 
peppery"  kind?     You  lose! 

HUNDRED  WAYS  OF  KISSING  GIRLS  and  other 
things;   something  real  good.     B.  Girls'  Club. 

"Ten  kisses  short  as  one,  one  long  as  twenty;  a 
summer's  day  will  seem  an  hour  as  short,  being  wasted 
in  such  time-beguiling  sport." 

In  George  Moore's  "Sister  Teresa"  we  learn  that 
*'women  can  be  as  bad  as  men."  If  it  is  "bad"  for 
women  to  sell  photos,  "the  kind  men  want,"  then  the 
following  ads  are  those  of  "bad"  women — at  least 
women's  names  were  signed  to  them: 

FIVE  SPORTY  CARDS  of  shapely  girls  in  stunning  poses 
that  show  clearly  their  rich,  warm  beauty.  Sent  sealed. 
FIVE  POSTCARDS,  10c  (silver).  Kind  men  want,  but 
seldom  get.     Miss  R. 

"Going  some  when  a  MISS  can  advertise  sporty 
pictures.  They  may  be  harmless,  but  the  intent  is 
there  just  the  same,  as  only  those  interested  in  spicy 
or  sporty  poses  will  answer." — Mail  Order  News. 

PHOTOS— "Nude  in  Art,"  not  a  stitch  on  them!     Exciting 
poses.     Sent  securely  sealed.     Men  only. 
RED  HOT!     Four  beautiful  bathing  girl  pictures.    Better 
than  "September  Morn"! 

MISS  MERRY  WIDOW  before  the  bath,  two  poses. 

ORIGINAL  BATHING  BEAUTIES— The  kind  you  have 
always  wanted.  (Very  daring!  Naughty!)  10  for  25c 
silver   (no  stamps). 

100   BATHING   BEACH   GIRLS,  in   assorted,  bewitching 

poses. 

25  BEAUTIFUL  POSES  of  California  Bathing  Girls,  10c. 

"Gazing  far  down  in  the  valley  below  he  spies  the 
pretty  maidens  bathing  in  the  stream!" — From  the 
song  of  "The  Oom-yah  Bird." 

Once  we  regarded  a  couple  of  weeks  in  the  moun- 
tains or  woods  as  an  ideal  vacation.  But  after  this 
it's  the  bathing  beach  for  us.     O!  you  bathing  girls! 


Rich,    Rare   and   Racy   Books 

"r/ie  warmest  stuff   ever  put  in   print" 

MEN  who  buy  books  that  are  advertised  as  "rich, 
rare  and  racy"  do  not  do  so  because  of  ignor- 
ance and  inexperience.  It  is  the  expectation  of  getting 
something  "off  color"  that  prompts  them  to  part  with 
their  money. 

Like  the  makers  of  "photos  of  women,  the  kind  men 
want  but  seldom  get,"  the  publishers  of  "red  hot, 
classy,  full-of-ginger"  books  in  "unvarnished  lan- 
guage," that  make  "no  attempt  to  dodge  anything," 
where  the  "real,  genuine,  undiluted  naked  truth"  is 
blurted  out  in  every  line,  all  the  while  "teaching  a 
deep  moral  lesson,"  also  appeal  to  the  erotic  element 
in  men.  As  the  evil  will  ever  find  in  books  the 
wickedness  they  themselves  bring,  and  the  holiest  of 
printed  books  make  the  wicked  think  wickedly,  so 
the  vilest  of  them  can  not  make  the  lover  of  righteous- 
ness do  wrong.  In  other  words,  books  will  not  make 
fools  of  people  who  are  fools  by  nature,  or  "ain't  quite 
right  in  the  head,"  to  quote  the  editor  of  the  Bingville 
Bugle. 

As  a  contribution  to  a  ''hihliotheca  americana 
curiosa'  (or  "the  hundred  worst  books")  the  follow- 
ing  titles,  taken  from  the  advertising  matter,  with  the 
accornpanying  "notes,"  made  up  from  the  "descrip- 
tive literature,"  should  make  a  good  beginning. 

Publishers  of  this  particular  line  of  "books"  are 
quick  to  seize  upon  a  new  field  for  their  operations, 
and,  following  the  exposures  in  recent  years  of  "white 
slave"  cases  and  the  reports  of  numerous  vice  com- 
missions, have  resorted  to  these  subjects  as  a  fruitful 


32  "FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS" 

supply  of  ''raw"  material.  Consequently,  if  you 
"grab  the  opportunity  before  the  books  are  out  of 
print"  you  should  soon  have  a  fine  collection  of — 
junk  ! 

The  postal  authorities  have  ruled  that  no  matter 
how  harmless  a  book  or  picture  may  be,  if  the  adver- 
tising of  it  is  designed  to  cause  a  false  impression  the 
advertiser  is  liable  to  charges  of  obtaining  money 
under  false  pretenses.  (Of  course  the  advertiser  has 
no  control  over  the  imagination  of  any  one  who  reads 
his  advertisement.) 

With  the  book  advertisements  shown  farther  along 
it  would  be  difficult  to  prove,  perhaps,  that  the  adver- 
tisers were  giving  the  wrong  impression  as  to  the 
character  of  the  "books" — certainly  the  impression 
sought  is  apparent  enough. 

A  "certain  good  man"  some  years  ago  is  said  to 
have  sold  several  thousand  copies  of  a  cheap  edition 
of  the  Bible  at  S2  a  copy  by  using  an  ad  something 
like  this: 

EVERY  SPORT  ou^ht  to  read  this  book,  the  most  fasci- 
nating of  all  the  ages;  full  of  fascinating  matter;  400 
pages.     Sent  in  plain  sealed  wrapper  for  $2. 

It  is  hardly  possible  that  any  "sport"  who  answered 
the  ad  expected  to  receive  a  Bible — rather,  one  may 
reasonably  presume,  said  "sport"  believed  he  would 
get  the  "naked"  truth  about  something  or  somebody. 
In  this  case  the  advertiser  certainly  gave  the  reader 
a  "false  impression"  of  the  character  of  the  book  he 
had  for  sale. 

THE  WHITE  SLAVE  GIRLS  OF  CHICAGO— A  rare 
book.  By  "One  of  the  Girls,"  who  has  been  there  and 
knows  how  it  is  herself. 

The  "authoress"  does  not  mince  matters.  There 
are  no  ifs,  ands  or  huts  about  it.  In  "plain  English" 
you  may  read  and  understand  her  story,  from  the 
time  she  was  "insulted  by  a  handsome,  well  dressed, 
but  worthless,  brute,"  and  later  "parts  with  her  honor 


"FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS"  33 

rather  than  give  up  her  child,"  ami  hundreds  of 
other  startlin*;  incidents  in  the  "everyday  life  of  the 
white  slave  girls,"  on,  on  to  the  end. 

THE  TRAGEDIES  OF  THE  WHITE  SLAVES,  or  the 
Tragedies  of  Ten  Girls.  True  stories  exposing  the 
methods    in    trapping    girls.      Guaranteed    to    please    you. 

"Boys,  if  you  want  to  read  something  real  lively, 
order  this  book  sure  and  read  how  Minnie  was  lured 
into  a  life  of  shame,  how  the  girl  from  Iowa  had  a 
big  time,  and  what  happens  in  the  'red  light'  district 
of  the  big  city  every  night  in  the  year." 

CHICAGO  BY  NIGHT.  What  to  see  and  how  to  find  it. 
Made  more  realistic  by  45  illustrations. 

An  "eye-opener"  to  every  young  man  intending  to 
visit  the  Windy  City,  especially  if  he  contemplates 
"taking  in  the  sights."  Gives  "reliable  information" 
concerning  places  of  amusement  and  some  "hilarious 
resorts"  not  so  public.  Everything  made  plain  in  this 
"great  work." 

IN  THE  ARMS  OF  LOVE. 

A  thrilling  "romance"  of  a  "young,  talented  and 
very  amorous  young  girV  and  her  lover,  a  '^mismated 
married  man.^* 

CRIMES  OF  THE  WHITE  SLAVERS.  Real  life  in  "red 
light  districts"  of  large  cities. 

You  will  not  believe  "such  things"  possible  till  you 
read  them  in  this  book.  '"''Fascinating  descriptions" 
of  how  girls  are  led  astray  and  wives  induced  to  be 
untrue  to  their  husbands. 

FRAM  DANCE  HALL  TO  WHITE  SLAVERY.  The  most 
thrilling,  sensational  white  slave  story  ever  put  in  print. 

"If  you  once  start  to  read  it  you  will  not  stop  until 
you  have  finished  it,  as  it  will  thrill  you  through  and 
through  from  beginning  to  end"!  Girls'  own  true 
stories  of  how  they  started  attending  dance  halls  for 
mere  pleasure  and  companionship,  and  there  met  by 
white  slave  dealers  and  lured  into  a  life  of  shame. 


34  "FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS" 

FIGHTING  THE  TRAFFIC  IN  YOUNG  GIRLS.  Illus- 
trated by  32  pictures  of  "darkest  Chicago." 

The  "startling,  stirring  confessions"  of  "Daisy"  and 
"Kitty." 

THE  FATE  OF  ESTELLE,  the  Typewriter  Girl— Real 
spicy.     Sealed. 

If  you  enjoy  truth  that  will  make  your  hair  stand 
on  end,  read  this  book.  "It  points  a  moral  of  which 
every  girl  should  beware"! 

TWENTY  CONFESSIONS  OF  TWENTY  DIVORCED 
WOMEN — A  thriller  from  cover  to  cover.  Under  sealed 
wrapping. 

"Before  you  marry"  you  are  advised  to  read  these 
"confessions."     Why? 

HELL  AT  MIDNIGHT  IN  SPRINGFIELD— What's  do- 
ing after  dark  in  the  red  light  district  of  the  capital  city 
of  Illinois. 

The  table  of  contents  too  "strong"  to  quote — here! 

WHAT  HAPPENED  TO  OLGA— The  life  story  of 
Florence,  the  prettiest  girl  at  the  White  Front,  the 
Fountain  of  Youth,  the  greatest  vice  resort  on  earth. 

If  that  is  not  enough,  there  are  eight  other  warm 
stories  added. 

CONFESSIONS  OF  A  YOUNG  GIRL,  who  thrilled  "so- 
ciety" with  her  frank  confessions;  full  of  ginger. 

"Seize  this  momentous  opportunity  and  reap  an 
experience  which  no  other  volume  can  afford."  Her 
soul  is  burning  with  an  absorbing  passion,  "madly 
longing  for  her  lover's  embrace."  Evidently  a  jinx 
steps  in  somewhere,  for  all  this  "transcendent  happi- 
ness" is  soon  "staggering  under  the  weight  of  a  name- 
less horror." 

THE  ART  OF  PLEASING  MEN— A  book  for  ladies. 

The  woman  anxious  to  get  married  will  here  find 
"some  unfailing  methods  of  catching  a  husband,"  and 
"how  to  get  another  when  he  has  been  gathered  to 
his  fathers."     "Any  woman  who  can  not  catch  a  hus- 


"FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS"  35 

band  by  the  rules  laid  down  in  this  book  does  not 
deserve  one." 

SEPTEMBER  MORN,  FAMOUS  NUDE  CARD  and  book, 
"Secrets  of  the  Harem."    lOc.    Catalog,  2c. 

The  "secrets"  of  the  harem  seem  very  commonplace 
affairs  after  reading  this  "book."  The  catalogue  an- 
nounces that  photographs  of  "beautiful  women  in 
suggestive  and  semi-nude  poses,  and  girls  in  various 
stages  of  undressing,''  etc.,  may  be  had,  and  also 
assures  you  that  the  models  employed  for  these  photos 
are  the  "most  beautiful  women  in  the  world."  A 
"trial  order"  brought — disillusionment. 

BOYS— BUILD  A  BETTER  BABY.  Sexation  in  its  freer 
love  relationship  is  "Religion  of  the  Future."  Book  free 
in  English  or  French.  Sealed,  with  "Law  of  Bi-Sexual 
Birth,"  only  10c.  Both  with  books,  "White  Slavery"  and 
one  on  "Drugless  Healing,"  with  fancy  colored  plates, 
postpaid,  25c.  Japs  are  immune,  so  remember  that  pre- 
vention of  disease  is  perfection  of  health.  Do  I  get  your 
goat?     Address,  Bessie  X. 

Now  what  do  you  think  of  that? 

THE  LOVERS'  CASKET. 

This  is  "some"  casket!  And  all  for  10c!  It  con- 
tains "secrets  for  lovers,"  one  of  the  secrets  being 
"how  to  win  the  true  love  of  as  many  of  the  opposite 
sex  as  the  heart  may  desire,"  and  this  secret  is  said  to 
be  worth  S5  to  any  one;  ten  funny  stories  you  may 
learn  to  tell  and  create  roars  of  laughter  at  evening 
entertainments;  you  can  be  the  wonder  and  envy  of 
all  your  friends  when  you  have  learned  to  perform 
tricks  with  cards;  twelve  gay  and  festive  love  letters; 
a  book  on  love  and  courtship  will  help  you  smooth 
the  way  to  happiness;  seventy-eight  rib-tickling  "new" 
jokes  and  conundrums;  twenty-one  "rip-roaring, 
bright  and  snappy  monologues";  thirty-nine  experi- 
ments in  magic;  a  "complete  marriage  guide"  in 
which   many  "mysterious  things   are   truthfully   and 


36  "FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS" 

vividly  explained";  seventy-one  toasts  that  are  "cork- 
ers"; fourteen  "vivid"  pictures  of  a  "young  couple  in 
all  sorts  of  antics  before  and  after  marriage"  which 
you  shouldn't  miss;  forty-two  flirtation  cards;  two 
hundred  and  ten  riddles  and  conundrums;  the  "Gipsy 
Fortune  Teller,"  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-nine 
"Money  Making  Secrets"  that  will  make  you  rich — 
worth  S500  to  you! 

NATURE'S  WAY  IN  LOVE,  COURTSHIP  AND  MAR- 
RIAGE.    Nothing  like  it  has  ever  before  been  published. 

"Were  a  price  put  upon  this  book  proportionate  to 
its  value  few  could  afford  to  buy  it,"  but  that  all  men, 
old  and  young,  rich  and  poor,  may  own  a  copy,  just 
answer  ten  questions  and  if  in  the  judgment  of  the 
advertiser  he  thinks  you  need  the  book  he  will  send 
it.  As  the  book  explains  to  a  "scientific  certainty  just 
what  will  win  a  woman's  love,"  and,  having  won  it, 
"hold  it  forever  and  against  all  comers,"  why  hesitate 
to  answer  any  of  the  ten  questions?  (especially  the 
last  four:  Q.  7,  Mention  all  your  ailments.  Q.  8, 
What  treatment  have  you  had?  Q.  9,  At  what  ex- 
pense?    Q.  10,  What  result?). 


The   Mail   Order   Mint 

"Making  money  in  the  mail  order  mint  is  easy 
when  you  know  how" 

HOMELESS  wanderer  and  searcher  after  honest 
employment!  When  your  pockets  are  empty 
turn  to  the  Want  Ads — the  by-paths  to  easy  weahh! 
There  you  will  find  "green  fields"  and  "running 
brooks,"  the  "land  of  milk  and  honey,"  "rich"  gold 
mines,  "flowing"  oil  wells,  "producing"  orange  groves, 
100  to  10,000  percent  interest  on  your  "investment," 
"1000  secrets  on  how  to  get  rich,"  "$10  a  day  without 
capital,"  "barrels  of  money,"  "slathers  of  greenbacks," 
"showers  of  gold,"  "mountains  of  silver,"  "money 
sticking  out  everywhere"  (and  easy  to  get),  all  this 
bewildering  array  of  "unheard-of  opportunities" 
entreating  you  to  get  your  share — without  capital, 
without  work,  and  without  worry! 

It  is  said  that  the  sight  of  some  foods  makes  the 
mouth  water.  Equally  efficacious,  so  far  as  results 
are  concerned,  is  the  sight  of  an  ad  that  makes  the 
mind's  eye  see  visions  of  wealth  and  luxury  through 
the  investment  of  "two  bits"  ( sometimes  two  "bones" ) 
in  a  "golden  key"  that  unlocks  the  "secret  door"  that 
leads  straight  to  the  tremendous  heaps  of  yellow  gold 
coins  that  lie  in  the  high,  vaulted  treasure  chambers 
of  the  mysterious  "mail  order  mint." 

"Making  money  in  the  mail  order  mint  is  easy  when 
you  know  how"  is  the  sweet  burden  of  many  a  pro- 
moter's song.  Its  dulcet  refrain  is  heard  from  East- 
port's  rocky  shore  to  San  Diego's  silvery  tide.  It  carries 
a  message  of  "deliverance"  from  wage  slavery  under 
tyrannical  bosses  for  a   thin  pay   envelope;     it   also 


38  "FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS" 

carries  the  "warning"  that  old  age  is  steadily  creep- 
ing on,  that  tomorrow  we  may  lose  our  job,  and  then, 
with  only  a  heavy  heart  and  enfeebled  hands,  we 
shall  see  the  wolf  of  want  come  right  into  the  house 
and  gobble  up  every  one  of  us! 

But,  hold!     A  "Moses"  is  at  hand! 

First  let  it  be  said  that  the  "easy  money"  mail  order 
promoter  is  not  a  mere  "deliverer"  only.  He  is  more 
than  that!  His  extraordinary  knowledge  of  finance 
and  business,  of  human  nature  and  its  needs,  of  the 
desire  of  every  one  to  be  independent,  amply  qualify 
him  to  be  the  one  and  only  one  in  this  great  nation 
of  down-trodden  wage  slavers  who  can  free  them  from 
the  eternal  grind  and  put  cash-producing  "plans"  or 
"courses"  of  "instructions"  in  their  hands  that  will 
start  the  dollars  rolling  in  by  the  operation  of  any 
one  of  his  many  marvelous  masterpieces  of  money 
making  mail  order  schemes! 

The  Perfect  Day  must  be  near! 

Keen  visionists  of  the  future  may  already  see  that 
this  nation  is  destined  to  become  a  humming  hive  ot 
mail  order  dealers — if  only  the  toiling  masses  of  meal 
ticket  chasers  once  realize  they  have  but  their  bone- 
warping  shackles  to  lose,  will  banish  fear  and  take 
advantage  of  the  "tremendous  and  unlimited"  possi- 
bilities of  money  making  offered  by  those  who  are 
impatient  to  start  them  in  business. 

"In  the  wildest  flights  of  all  your  dreaming,"  said 
one  of  these  super-benefactors  of  mankind,  "you 
never  dared  hope  for  the  quick  success  that  should 
come  to  you  if  you  will  immediately  send  for  my 
great  mail  order  course,"  the  price  of  which  was  $100 
at  the  start,  but  later  reduced  to  $3  down,  $97  to  be 
paid  when  the  operator  had  cleared  $2000  in  the  first 
six  months!  Still  later  it  was  reduced  to  the  "measly 
sum  of  $1,"  which  included  free  of  charge  the  very 
scheme  with  which  the  originator  of  this  mail  order 


"FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS"  39 

wizardry  claimed  to  have  made  "$650,000  in  eighteen 
months" ! 

Yet,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  these  "benefactors" 
have  had  their  prototype  in  years  gone  by.  Fifty  and 
sixty  years  ago  there  appeared  in  New  York  news- 
papers the  following  among  the  Want  Ads: 

A  FORTUNE  FOR  SI  -No  excuse  for  poverty.  Direc- 
tions will  be  sent  to  any  one  enclosing  §1,  postpaid,  to 
the  subscriber,  which  will  enable  them,  with  the  smallest 
amount  of  capital  to   realize   from   S15   to   S30  per  week. 

BECOME  ABSOLUTELY  INDEPENDENT— Send  SI  and 
the  astounding  secret  will  be  sent  you. 

$5000  A  YEAR  CLEAR— No  investment  required.  This 
is  a  marvelous  plan,  new  and  perfectly  legitimate,  pay- 
ing the  originator  more  than  SlOO  a  week.  Not  a  cent  of 
capital  invested.  Full  details  of  operation  mailed  in 
plain  envelope  on  receipt  of  S5. 

Of  all  the  schemes  for  making  money  without  work 
the  mail  order  business  has  been  touted  the  most. 
The  fascination  of  taking  "real  money"  from  the 
morning's  mail  is  glowingly  described  to  one  who 
sends  a  stamp  or  a  "silver  dime"  for  "particulars." 

The  fact  that  some  ads  have  been  run  two  to  five 
years,  in  a  half-hundred  mediums,  must  mean  that 
the  proposition  pays — pays,  at  least,  the  persistent 
advertiser.  But  it  does  not  mean,  necessarily,  that  the 
proposition  is  a  good  one.  It  will  be  noticed  there  is 
a  striking  similarity  in  the  "copy"  of  many  of  the  ads 
farther  on — often  identical.  There  is  a  suspicion 
that  some  of  the  "mail  orderites"  are  "chasing  their 
tails." 

A  "scheme"  may  be  either  legitimate  or  fraudulent, 
according  to  the  intent  of  the  advertiser.  Any  way, 
the  "scheme's"  first  business  is  to  get  attention — to 
excite  curiosity.     For  instance: 

LOOK!      LOOK!      LOOK!      Money!      Money!      Money! 

Key  free. 

The  ad  was  answered;  and,  the  "key"  received,  if 


40  "FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS" 

such  it  is,  read,  in  part:  ''$500  genuine  money  for 
$100;  $1000  genuine  money  for  $200,'"  and  so  on. 
But  do  not  be  surprised  if  you  should  receive  S500  in 
Villa  specie  for  your  100  good  U.  S.  dollars. 

25  CENTS  starts  you  in  the  mail  order  business  selling 
plans  and  instructions;  over  500  percent  profit;  $2  worth 
for  25  cents;  start  now. 

This  "start  in  business"  consisted  of  20  circulars. 

SEND  ME  25  CENTS  and  I  will  send  you  copy  of  an  ad 
pulling  me  300  quarters  a  week;  article  to  fill  orders  and 
place  to  secure  article  for  10  cents  prepaid  to  customer. 

In  plain  English,  I  think,  this  means,  "Work  the 
suckers  the  way  we  do."  At  least  that's  the  way  it 
looks  after  an  examination  of  the  "business  litera- 
ture" received. 

AN  AD  THAT  BRINGS  THE  QUARTERS— I  will  send 
you  copy  of  an  ad  that  has  pulled  as  many  as  1000  quar- 
ters in  one  month;  will  also  tell  you  where  to  place  the 
ad;    full   information   and   sample   of   article   to   sell,   25c. 

And  this  the  same. 

MAKE  S50  UP  PER  WEEK -I  show  you  how;  no  can- 
vassing; no  mail  order  scheme. 

For  25  cents  you  can  get  a  copy  of  the  "Roadman's 
Guide,"  in  which  you  may  look  for  the  "$50  up  per 
week." 

WHY  WASTE  SPARE  TIME?— Receive  30  to  50  letters 
daily,  dime  in  each;  possibilities  unlimited;  will  send 
complete  plans  for  stamp. 

Sure  enough,  "complete  plans"  came  by  return 
mail.  But  why  tell  everybody  and  anybody  for  two 
cents  how  to  make  a  metal  polish? 

$3000  A  YEAR — No  canvassing,  no  soliciting,  not  a  mail 
order  business;  no  advertising,  printing,  mailing  or 
peddling — and  no  humbug!  500  to  700  percent  profit! 
Working  for  wages  is  a  joke!     My  plan,  25c,  tells  how. 

DIMES! — Dimes  in  every  mail;  money  comes  so  easy  it 
will  stagger  you!     Complete  instructions  15c. 


"FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS"  41 

Instructions  tell  how  to  place  an  ad  similar  to  the 
above  in  classified  columns.  In  answer  to  each  in- 
quiry send  ''12  Gay  and  Festive  Love  Letters  Reading 
Two  Ways"  and  the  price  per  hundred  of  the  letters, 
and  vour  customer  will  see  the  possibilities  of  money 
making  in  this  way  and  will  be  anxious  to  "increase 
his  income"  in  the  same  way  you  are  doing! 

AN    AD    that   brings    350    dimes   per    week;    copy    of   ad, 
sample  of  article  and  where  to  buy,  all  for  10c. 
You  guessed  it — "12  Gay,"  etc. 

SEND  DIME  and  2c  stamp  for  my  great  money  making 

formula;  you  can  positively  make  S30  daily. 

Make  a  "poultry  tonic"  in  two-pound  packages  and 
sell  65  of  them  a  day  at  50  cents  per  package — that 
will  "positively  make  S30  daily." 

LET  ME  show  you  how  to  start  a  business  of  your  own 

that  will  not  cost  you  one  cent. 

Send  S5  for  a  formula;  with  it  will  come  24  copies 
of  "24  Ways  to  Make  Money"  (formulas),  which  you 
must  sell  to  friends  at  25c  each,  "making  S6."  With 
the  SI  profit  on  the  sale  of  the  booklets  to  friends 
you  then  "can  start  a  business  of  your  own"  without 
it  costing  you  a  cent!     Fine! 

START  a  business  of  your  own;  I  will  tell  you  how  and 

send  complete  instructions  for  25c. 

"The  only  way  to  make  a  success  of  any  business  is 
to  go  to  it  in  earnest,"  comes  with  the  "instructions" 
for  making  a  silver  polish. 

HOME  SEWERS  WANTED— Send  25c  for  sample  work 

and  instructions. 

The  sample  is  a  canton  flannel  article  which  you 
are  to  stitch  together  and  return  for  "inspection."  If 
you  wish  further  "instructions"  please  send  the  ad- 
vertiser S5  for  a  "trial  shipment"  of  five  dozen  of  the 
"articles."  Your  profits  are  to  come  out  of  sales  you 
make  in  your  neighborhood. 

It    is    this    sort    of    "home    work"    ads    that    once 


42  "FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS" 

prompted  this  Post  Office  report  upon  a  "work  at 
home"  scheme:  "This  money  comes  from  the  poor 
and  ignorant,  as  a  rule,  as  they  are  the  class  attracted 
and  duped  by  the  advertising  and  literature." 

READ  WISELY— Chance  of  a  lifetime.  For  25c  in  silver 
I  will  put  you  next  to  something  that  will  place  you  aboN-e 
want  as  long  as  you  live. 

Here's  a  chance  to  pay  off  your  debts — if  you  have 
any — and  then  take  life  easy. 

WE  PAY  25  CENTS  EACH  for  farmers'  names  and 
addresses.     Send  10  cents  for  contract. 

Listen!  The  "desirability  of  this  proposition"  is 
very  apparent  ('We  pay  25  cents  each"j,  but  the 
"contract"  dulls  the  edge  of  the  desire  for  so  much 
"easy  money"  when  it  discloses  the  modus  operandi 
by  which  the  25  cents  "compensation"  is  to  be  ac- 
quired; that  is,  getting  orders  for  printed  stationery 
at  $1  per  order  and  sending  the  company  75  cents,  the 
party  of  the  second  part  keeping  25  cents.  That's  the 
way  to  get  "25  cents  each  for  farmers'  names,"  etc. 

MEN   AND    WOMEN   wanted   to    gather   names   of   their 

neighbors  for  us;    10   cents  a  name  paid.     Send   10   cents 

for  full  particulars. 

An  answer  to  such  an  ad  usually  brings  the  infor- 
mation that  $1  must  be  sent  for  a  "complete  outfit" 
for  compiling  the  names.  "Instructions"  which  come 
with  the  "outfit"  often  require  more  "inside  informa- 
tion" concerning  the  persons  whose  names  are  desired 
than  the  average  individual  can  hope  to  get — and 
quits  the  job.  One  concern  is  said  to  have  received 
nearly  200,000  letters,  each  containing  a  dollar,  while 
"working"  this  scheme — but  the  promoter  later  went 
to  jail  for  eighteen  months. 

S25  WEEKLY  collecting  names  and  addresses.  Send 
stamp  for  particulars. 

This  is  a  very  easy  way  to  get  rid  of  a  dollar.  How- 
ever, emptor  gets  "instructions"  how  to  collect  names 


"FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS"  4^ 

and    sell   them — but    not   how    to   sell    them    to    the 
advertiser. 

SELL  ME  your  spare  knowledge;  average  person  has 
$3000  worth;  turn  it  into  cash. 

Still  have  my  "spare  knowledge"  (whatever  it  is), 
because  the  three  dimes  sent  for  the  method  of  dis- 
posing of  the  same  were  returned — the  "plan"  was 
out  of  print! 

WORK  FOR  YOURSELF— Small  ad  pays  me  150  quarters 
per  week;  ad  and  sample  of  article  to  sell,  25c. 
The  two-bit  piece  returned!     Advertiser  had  quit 
the  "business"! 

START  YOURSELF  EARNING  S5   DAILY— No  scheme 
or   mail   order  plan,   but   a   high   grade   business   proposi- 
tion.   Can  be  operated  anywhere  on  $2  capital.     Complete 
instructions  for  silver  dime  and  2c  stamp. 
A  formula  for  a  toilet  preparation,  which,  it  is  said, 
can  be  put  up  for  $2.    Then  sell  28  bottles  a  day  at  25 
cents  a  bottle — and  you  have  the  $5  per. 

I    MAKE   S5    A    DAY    with    small   mail    order    business; 
ad  and  sample  of  article  used  and  full  particulars  for  10c. 
Suggests  selling  the  very  same  thing  the  advertiser 
does — a  two-page  sheet  of  instructions  about  compil- 
ing and  selling  names  and  addresses. 

DONT  BE  A  SLAVE  and  work  for  others;  earn  $1000  to 
§5000  a  year  in  your  spare  time;  full  particulars  on  re- 
ceipt of  $1  cash. 

830  WEEKLY  ON  25  CENTS  CAPITAL— No  mail  order 
scheme  or  medical  formula;  thousands  can  work  without 
interference,  any  lime,  anywhere;  don't  let  this  offer  slip 
by,  but  let  a  dime  roll  this  way. 

AN  AD  THAT  PULLS  THE  DIMES— Also  enough  mate- 
rial to  fill  25  dime  orders,  only  20c. 

Once  in  a  while  the  "dime  pulling  business"  fails 
to  work,  as  the  following  shows:  "Dear  Sir — I  re- 
ceived your  10c  in  stamps.  As  yours  was  the  only 
order  I  received  there  is  no  need  to  keep  it." 

LET  ME  show  you  how  to  start  a  profitable  business, 
without  capital,  complete  for  a  silver  dime. 


44  "FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS" 

ASTONISHING,  FASCINATING— Millions  of  dollars 
made  annually;  SlOO  weekly  at  home  during;  leisure 
moments;  absolutely  no  canvassing;  no  experience  neces- 
sary; I  will  start  you  in  this  extraordinary  business  and 
furnish  everything ;   don't  worry  about  capital. 

The  business  must  have  been  too  astonishing,  too 
fascinating  and  too  extraordinary.  The  Postmaster 
General  ordered  letter  returned. 

GOOD  FOR  S250  PER  MONTH -Once  established,  two 
days  a  month  carries  it  along.  Plan  sent  free,  with  two 
formulas,  for  25c  silver. 

Advertiser  says  this  business  can  be  started  with 
less  than  SI  capital.  "Do  you  know  of  any  other 
business  that  will  earn  that  much  money  for  two 
days'  work  a  month?"    Nope. 

WOULDN'T  YOU  like  to  have  people  everywhere  send- 
ing you  money  by  mail?  You  can  receive  300  dimes 
weekly  by  mail  without  risk.  Complete  information, 
material,  valuable  sample,  10c. 

After  receiving  the  "dope"  it  looks  like  an  invita- 
tion to  thrash  the  same  air  with  them. 

YOU  CAN  MAKE  A  FORTUNE  with  SI  capital!  If  you 
want  to  fill  your  pockets  with  gold,  silver  and  greenbacks 
write  me  for  plans  and  schemes  for  getting  money 
quickly.     Sent  free! 

As  Poor  Richard  says,  "The  boldness  of  some  men 
and  the  credulitv  of  others  is  startling  and  won- 
derful." 

MEN  WANTED  to  work  in  a  company  store;  SlOO  a 
month  and  a  pass  worth  S25  will  be  sent  one  desiring  to 
take  the  work. 

As  a  "guarantee  of  good  faith"  please  send  SIO — 
and  then  you  will  have  a  long,  long  wait  for  a  job. 

MAKING  MONEY  IN  THE  MAIL  ORDER  MINT  is  easy 
when  you  know  how;  we'll  gladly  tell  you  all  about  it  if 
you  are  in  earnest;  SI  all  you  need  at  first;  experience 
unnecessary.     Send   10c  for  particulars. 

"There  is  absolutely  no  limit  in  the  mail  order 
business."     The  "mere  dollar"  you  need  "at  first"  is 


"FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS"  45 

for  a  book  which  may  mean  the  turning  point  for 
you  '"from  faihirc  to  a  glorious  success  in  the  mail 
order  business."     That's  all. 

I  HAVE  A  SPLENDID  PLAN  that  should  net  you  $5000 
the  first  year;  can  be  started  without  capital  during  spare 
time,    without    interfering    with    your   present    occupation. 

How  many  wouldn't  drop  their  present  occupation 
for  S5000  a  year?  Only  one?  Sit  down — you're 
rocking  the  boat. 

DONT  WORK  FOR  OTHERS  ALL  YOUR  LIFE— Start  a 
mail  order  business  of  your  own.  You'll  never  get  rich 
working  for  others.  Small  ad  that  brings  in  175  to  225 
dimes  weekly,  and  complete  instructions  for  10c.  The 
very  best  plan  for  those  looking  for  the  coin. 

It  won't  be  long  before  all  that  "mystery  stuff"  is 
torn  off  the  mask  of  the  "wise  insiders"  in  the  mail 
order  mint,  so  many  are  bent  on  showing  us  how  to 
get  the  money.  So  start  a  business  of  your  own  on  a 
few  dimes — and  other  dimes  will  come  tumbling  into 
your  lap  on  every  round  of  the  postman! 

ADD  $200  MONTHLY  TO  YOUR  INCOME— You  place 
small  ads  in  newspapers  and  magazines  and  pull  hundreds 
of  dimes  and  quarters;  no  capital  required;  SI  makes 
$50  a  week. 

After  investigation  it  doesn't  seem  so  easy.  "There 
is  so  much  output  from  the  ignorant  and  the  'suckers' 
that  it  seems  allowable  that  there  should  be  some 
kind  of  a  scramble  for  it.  The  blame  is  fundamentally 
with  the  people  who  go  about  with  their  purses  open 
to  the  view  of  ambitious  and  thrifty  collectors." — 
George  French,  in  his  "Advertising:  The  Social  and 
Economic  Problem." 

MEN  without  trades,  learn  to  clean  wall  paper,  make  $8 
a  day;  all  secrets  and  instructions,  $2. 

$550  CLEAR  in  90  days  or  less;  congenial  work  in  your 
own  community;  man  or  woman;  no  capital  required; 
spare  time  may  be  used. 


46  "FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS" 

FRIENDSHIP  or  love  easily  won,  or  lost  love  regained; 
secret,  10c. 

YOU  can  make  more  money  in  a  week  with  your  brain 
than  in  a  month  with  your  hands;  ordinary  ability 
required;    either  sex;   particulars  on  request. 

WHY  look  for  a  position?  Start  your  own  profitable 
business,  without  capital. 

EITHER  SEX — Address  postal  cards  at  home  evenings; 
S15  a  week  easily  made;  full  instructions  10c. 

There  are  a  few  easily  definable  classes,  which  may  be  set 
down  at  once,  under  the  heading  "Swindles,"  and  so  dismissed; 
promises  to  cure  or  relieve,  by  mail,  any  disease,  malformation 
or  abnormal  physical  condition,  whether  the  method  be  by 
drugs,  diet,  mechanical  appliances,  medical  treatment,  baths, 
or  "health  foods";  mining,  industrial,  commercial  or  real 
estate  propositions  holding  out  the  lure,  whether  guaranteed 
or  not,  of  high  percentages  on  an  investment;  definite  offers 
of  salaried  or  guaranteed  employment  on  any  basis  requiring 
the  payment  of  money  from  employee  to  employer. — Samuel 
Hopkins  Adams,  "The  New  World  of  Trade,"  Collier's,  June 
19,   1909. 


Bibliography 

BOOKS 

Marked  Fraudulent,  or  the  Faker  and  the  Sucker.  Ross  D. 
Breniser.     (Philadelphia)    1907. 

Principles  of  Practical  Puhlicitv.  Truman  A.  De  Weese.  Phila- 
delphia, 1908. 

Nostrums  and  Quackery.     Chicago,  1912. 

The  Great  American  Fraud.  Samuel  Hopkins  Adams.  Fifth 
and  enlarged  edition.     Chicago,  1913. 

Advertising:  Selling,  the  Consumer.  John  Lee  Mahin.  (New 
York-,   1914. 

Building  Your  Business  by  Mail.  William  G.  Clifford.  Chi- 
cago, 1914. 

The  Schemes  Back  of  the  Ads.     Ross  D.  Breniser.     1914. 

Business  of  Advertising.    Earnest  Elmo  Calkins.    New  York,  1915. 

Medical  Mail  Order  Frauds.     Chicago,  1915. 

Advertising:  The  Social  and  Economic  Problem.  George 
French.     New  York,  1915. 

Advertising:  Its  Principles  and  Practice.  Harry  Tipper,  Harry 
L.  Hollingsworth,  George  Barton  Hotchkiss,  Frank  Alvah 
Parsons.     New  York,  1915. 

Productive  Advertising.    Herbert  W.  Hess.    Philadelphia  ( 1915). 

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New  York,  1916. 

Psychology  of  Advertising.    Walter  Dill  Scott.     Boston,  1916. 

MAGAZINE  ARTICLES 

Swindling  and  Newspaper  Advertising.     Atlantic  Mo.,  Aug.,  1904. 
Postal  Fraud  Laws.     The  Outlook,  Jan.  14,  1905. 
Swindling  Through  the  Postoffice,    The  Outlook,  Jan.  14,  1905. 
Frauds  in  the  Mails.     North  American  Review,  April,   1907. 
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How  Some  Folks  Are  Easily  Swindled.    Ladies'  Home  Journal, 

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The  New  World  of  Trade.    Samuel  Hopkins  Adams.     Collier's, 

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Business    Opportunities.      Forbes    Lindsay.      Harper's    Weekly, 

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Hitchcock's  War  Upon  Swindles.    The  Independent,  Dec.  1, 1910. 
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The  Get-Rich-Quick  Game.     World's  Work,  March,  1911. 
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Millions  Lost  in  Fake  Enterprises.      The  Outlook,  April  13,  1912. 
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48  "FISHING  FOR  SUCKERS" 

My    Adventures    with    Your    Money.      George    Graham    Rice. 

Adventure,  April,  1911. 
Baffling  Kinds  of  Ignorance.     World's  "Work,  March,  1912. 
Easy  Money.     Will  MacMahon.     Collier's,  Aug.  16,  1913. 
The  "Easy"  Rich.     Isaac  F.  Marcosson.     Collier's,  April  11, 1914. 
Scenario  "School"  Advertising.    Photoplay  Magazine,  April,  1915. 
Fools  and  Their  Money.     Postage,  Jan.  and  Feb.,  1916. 
Mail  Order  Genius.     Photoplay  Magazine,  June,  1916. 

MAGAZINES 
Canvassers'  Magazine.     South  Whitley,  Ind, 
See  "The  Instability  of  Fallacious  Advertising  Methods"  and 
a  department  devoted  to  exposures  of  "mail  order  pirates." 
Mail  Order  Business  Builder.     Lansing,  Mich. 
Mail  Order  News.     Newburgh,  N.  Y. 


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